The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-04-01

on the Columbia river, and learning IL
from them ! made some improvements
aud frequently outsvam them. |
think | was the first 10 Introduce it iu
the East. A popularity of this stroke
is that the swimmers face is turned
upward and over his left shoulder, so
that he looks behind him. The ad.
vantage of this is that the crown of
his head meets the waves and his
mouth is always out of water. The
English have a stroke something like
the Chinook side stroke, but they keep
the face forward and plow through the
water nose first, getting less opportun-
ity for breathing AID meeting with
resistance. They also vary it by
thrusting the left arm forward through
the water instead of above. That is
an advantage when swimming against
a strong wind, becapse it avoids the
resistance of the moving air.
THE ovERH AND STROKE.
"The plain overland or turtle stroke
reaching forward first with one hand
and then the other and rolling the
body from side to side, is the fastest
for a short distance, but cannot be kept
mp very long. The pace is too rapid,
and the heart and lungs soon give out.
In a long race, however, a swimmer
changes from one style to another, to
vary the exertion aud rest his muscles
He will try the long, easy breast stroke
the English porpoise style, the turtle,
and the American side stroke, and then
flop over on his back and paddle along
In halt dozen different ways. | have
sixteen distinct strokes, some of them
merely for exhibition and fancy swim
ming, that / have devised for myself.
One of the most peculiar is called the
'corkscrew." l stretch the left arm
straight ahead, keep the right at full
length down against my side and thigh
keep the body rigid at full length and
use only my feet as propellers. By a
peculiar twist of the feet get not only
rapid forward motion under water,
but also a rotary movement, line
from the end of the left middle finger
to where my ankles would touch each
other being the axis. The motion is
similar to that of long rifle prcjec-
tile.
Another fancy movement is called
walking the water. The swimmer
lies flat upon his back with his arms
akimbo, hands against his sides. BY
stretching his legs out in front and al
ternately bending them at the knees
SO as to bring the heels back toward
the thighs, he draws himself along feet
first quite rapidly. The action some
what resembles walking In all the
fancy strokes and tricks, ease and
grace are the main points, and these
come from long experience and perfect
familiarity with the water. No vio-
lent movements are necessary to per-
form what appear to be the most diff
fcult feats. The specific gravity of
the human body Is about one tenth less
than that OF sea water, and it will float
without any assistance or motion. To
change position it is only necessary TO
shift the centre of gravity by moving
a limb or bending the body. A swim
mer goes up or down, swerves this way
or that, turns somersaults and FLAPS
on the principle of hawks soaring in
the air. Fat men are the best hoaters,
and in still water some some of them
can lie upon their back and 90 to sleep
without danger, but for fast swimming
one wants muscle and wind and no fat.
Bulk retards swimmer.
HOW TO DIVE.
'The swimmer should learn to dive
gracefully ii he wants to be considered
proficient in the art. Let him stand
almost erect, body slightly inclined for.
ward, holding his arms stretched out
before him with palms down, fingers
close together and thumbs touching.
With slight spring he projects him
self forward, throws his head down.
ward end feet up and enters the water
at slight angle from the perpendicu.
lar, the hands and arms cleaving the
way and protecting the head. Always
keep your eyes open under water and
don't wink. Winking Injuries the eye.
balls. BY turning the head upward
and spreading the palms oe the hands
the diver eau cone in curve to the
surface, or by keeping the head down
and kicking he can continue his de-
cent. He wants a good supply of air
inside when he makes the dive, as he
may have to stay down for a while.
Diving is very useful aud sometimes
profitable, as ! found when l was one
of the crew OF the yacht Ambassadress
John Jacob Astor liked the fun 80
well that he sometimes tossed five
dollar gold pieces overheard for me 10
dive after. BY pretending that /
couldn't see them on the bottom
once induced him to toss four over and
then brought them all up at once in
my mouth. Mr. Astor never took back
anything that he jettisoned, and SO
was well paid for four dives to the
bottom of Newport harbor.
"a pretty and puzzling trick under
water is smoking cigar and blowing
the smoke up through the water to the
surface, where it arrives in milk. white
bubbles. When the bubbles break the
smoke ascends in little clouds and puffs
or sometimes floats almost on the wat
er for a few minu es. The trick is
seen to BEST advantage in the swim
ming tank ana alwa,s takes at the
club exhibitions. 1t looks very strange
to see man go under water with a
lighted cigar In his mouth, smoke calm
y at the bottom and come TO the sur
face with the cigar burning as nicely
as if he were smoking in his easy chair
Apparently he defes all natural laws,
but of course he doesn't.
SMOKING UNrER WATER.
sit is simple trick, but it requires
practice. Just as | throw myself back.
ward to go down flip the cigar end
for end with my tongue and upper lip
and get the lighted end in my mouth
closing my lips wa.er-tight around it
A little slippery elm juice gargled be
fore going in prevents any accidental
burning of the mouth. Going slowly
down back wards, lie at full length or
the bottom of the tank and blow smoke